


Needles and Stars

by lanalucy



Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cross-Posted on LiveJournal, Gift Fic, Kidnapping, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-24
Updated: 2015-03-24
Packaged: 2018-03-19 09:19:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3604761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lanalucy/pseuds/lanalucy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam needs meds. Kara goes to find them. Things go awry.</p><p>This is a gift for my first and much loved beta, newnumbertwo. Happy Birthday!!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Needles and Stars

**Author's Note:**

  * For [newnumbertwo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/newnumbertwo/gifts).



> This is built on the foundation of my previous shortfics for kink - The Only Logical Explanation, and Morning Surprise.
> 
> Beta by laura_mayfair and singerdiva01_sk. <3

Laura didn’t realize at first something was wrong. Well...more wrong. Sam was sick and Kara asked Laura to watch him for a couple of hours - make sure he stayed in bed, drank water, didn’t take his stupid ass back down to the pyramid pitch. Kara’s words, not hers. She’d be back, but she hadn’t told Laura from where.

Sam had been shivering and Laura had climbed under the covers with him. No big deal. They’d done it before. She purposely didn’t think about what they’d done before _besides_ cuddle under the covers for warmth. Kara hadn’t come back by the time Laura fell asleep. Kara still hadn’t come back when Laura woke up the next morning.

She asked around, and someone said Kara had gone up to _Pegasus_ to beg antibiotics from Lee; Cottle had told her Lee still had some. Considering Kara and Lee weren’t on speaking terms, maybe it had taken longer than Kara expected. Lee could hold a grudge. Something he got from his father.

She went to the market, got more water, went back to watch over Sam for another day. Kara still didn’t come home.

Laura found someone to help Maya at the school; she should be teaching, but Sam was sicker and she didn’t feel right leaving him alone.

Sam got even worse, thrashing in his sleep, running a fever, coughing. Asking for Kara. Laura kept telling him Kara was working; she didn’t know what else to say. After three more days, he finally settled into a deeper sleep, and Laura relaxed a little. It was the break the medic had said to watch for. She took the time to get a shower, pick up more food, check on Maya and Isis. While she was out, she asked someone to get to the comm raptor, get a message to Cottle, check with Lee, find out what was keeping Kara.

The answer she got back stunned her: Kara had never made it to _Pegasus_. Laura was sure it was a misunderstanding, so she went to the raptor and asked to speak to Lee herself.

“ _Pegasus_ actual.” Sharp. Commanding. Impatient.

“Commander Apollo.”

“Madame President.” Tense. Cautious.

“Lee. Just Laura.”

His sound of his sigh swished over the radio. “What do you need?”

“They told me Kara wasn’t up there with you. That can’t be right. She’s been gone five days, Lee.” Long silence. She thought the connection had been broken. “Lee?”

“Five days? And no one’s seen her?”

“No, Lee. No one has seen her.”

“Well, maybe she’s just working off a trade for Sam’s meds. Or maybe she got bored and moved on. She’s been known to do that.”

Laura bit her lip. He was being petulant, and she wanted to rail at him, but she knew from experience it wouldn’t do any good. “Fine. I won’t bother you again.”

“Laura -”

She pushed the button to end the call. She asked if they could connect her to _Galactica_.

“ _Galactica_ actual.”

“Bill?”

“Hold on.” A pause and his voice from farther away. “Dee. Send this to my office, please.” A few clicks and hisses later, he came back on the line. “Laura. Good to hear from you.”

“Wait until our conversation is over to say that. Have you seen Kara, Bill?”

“No. Of course not. She chose to move planetside. She hasn’t been back since.” That same impatient tone layered his voice. Gods. If Bill and Lee knew how alike they were...

“If you haven’t seen her, Bill, then something’s happened.”

Bill’s voice was quieter now. “What do you mean, something’s happened?”

She marshalled her thoughts, wanting to be concise, so Bill could make the best decision. “Her husband got sick and she asked me to watch him while she went after some meds. At least, I assume that’s what she was planning. She didn’t come back, Bill. Lee hasn’t seen her, and she’s been gone five days. When Sam wakes up, he’s going to want to see Kara, and I don’t know what to tell him.”

“Why would she go to Lee?”

“I don’t know, Bill.” It was her turn to be impatient. “Because they used to be friends? Cottle told her Lee had meds, and I guess she hoped he would give her some for Sam.” 

“Maybe she lost track of -”

“Bill!” she snapped. “Stop it. Think. Would the Kara Thrace you know and love leave her sick husband alone for five days on a _whim_?”

“Of course not,” he protested. “She’s one of the most responsible people I know.”

“Then what could have happened? What can we do? How do we find her?” Her voice quavered. She hadn’t realized how on edge she was about Kara being missing.

Now he was all business. “I’ll get an extra team out on CAP, have them take a wider run around the planet, see if we’ve missed something. Have someone down there stay with the comms. Talk to Chief and Saul. They can get the word out to buddy up. Nobody goes anywhere alone.” He paused, and she knew he’d taken his glasses off, was rubbing his eyes. “It’s not like the bastards to sneak up on us, but their original plan worked so well, maybe they decided to try it again.”

She nodded as if he could see her. “All right.”

“I can’t make Lee give up meds, but I’ll give it a try. If the cylons are coming back, we need Anders able-bodied.” He took a deep breath, then said, “It _is_ good to hear from you, Laura. _Galactica_ out.”

She handed the receiver back to the pilot. “Admiral Adama wants someone to stay on the comms.”

“Yes, sir.”

=====

Kara didn’t know how long it’d been. She wasn’t strapped to the bed with an IV in her arm, but she’d been out of it for a while. Maybe she was still out of it. She looked around. She was lying on a couch. In her apartment. Only it was clean and had much nicer furniture. If she wasn’t still dreaming, it was a cylon trick. Had to be. If nothing else, even if she had money, she wouldn’t have decorated her place like this. It was so...perfect. Boring. Exactly what they would try because they didn’t understand Kara Thrace. No one did.

She sat up and her head swam. Frak! Sammy! If she’d never gotten back with the meds, was Sammy all right? Was Laura? She ruthlessly shoved her concerns aside. She could worry about them when she got out of here. Wherever here was.

“Mama.”

Kara froze, her hand falling to the scars on her belly, the memories of Caprica and the cylon doctor washing over her. _No. It’s a trick, Kara._ She ran her fingers through her hair, pulling at the ends until it hurt. She gritted her teeth. She was awake, then. She stood, looking around her, trying to determine from where the voice had come.

Her eyes lit on a tiny blonde girl staring up at her. She held her hands up. “Mama?”

No. No no no nonononono. Everything went black.

=====

Sam woke up and was immediately assaulted by the stench of stale sweat and sickbed. His left side was warm, but when he rolled to his side, the contours weren’t right for Kara - too angular in some places, too soft in others. He took a deep breath. Laura. He shook her shoulder a bit. “Hey.”

She startled and stiffened, then opened her eyes, eyes going every which way. “Sam?”

“Yeah.”

She closed her eyes tight, rubbed her fingers into her forehead, then opened them again. “How are you feeling?”

He tried to laugh, but it came out a croak. “Like I got hit by a raptor. Where’s Kara?”

Her eyes skittered from side to side, and somehow he knew she was going to lie to him. “She’s working, Sam.”

He just nodded. There was something about her voice, shaky and almost liquid. She wasn’t lying because Kara was off frakkin’ some no name on the other side of the tent city. Something had happened to her.

He moved to sit up, and his vision blurred. He groaned.

“Just take it slow, Sam.”

He didn’t need to breathe all that deeply to smell himself, but he pretended to take a good whiff. “I need a shower.”

Laura nodded. “We can go together. Once you’re cleaned up, maybe we can get Cottle to take a look at you, and I can drum up some food. I bet you’re hungry.”

He hadn’t thought about it ‘til she’d mentioned it, but he was frakking starving. His belly rumbled loudly, and he snorted. Gods, his ribs hurt. “How long’ve I been out?”

“Nearly a week, Sam. Cottle said you had pneumonia. Your fever spiked pretty high, but a couple of days ago, it started to break.” She looked away. “I was worried about you.”

Regardless of whatever he and Kara had with this woman, he hated seeing her so small and withdrawn. He put a hand on her hair. “I’m sorry I worried you. Guess Kara was right. She married an idiot.” He laughed and it turned into a painful cough, but he still felt better than he had the day Kara had dragged his ass back from the pyramid pitch.

His head swam with a hazy recollection of someone asking for Kara, then it disappeared. Wasn’t important.

He slowly and carefully swung his legs around to rest his feet on the floor, and sat there, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. Laura crawled off the foot of the bed and stood, then bent to pick up her shoes.

“Can you get up by yourself, Sam?”

He was pretty sure he couldn’t, but he was even more sure Laura Roslin couldn’t heave him up by herself. Whether he could do it or not, he would have to. “It’s gonna take me a minute.”

She grinned. “Take your time. Showers’ll still be there.”

He tensed the muscles in his thighs and calves, making sure they worked properly. He tried to get up a couple of times, barely moved, relaxed everything, and tried again. This time, he managed to get to his feet, though he knew he was swaying.

Laura walked up to his side. “Lean on me, Sam.”

He smiled into her hair and did his best not to put too much weight on her frail shoulders.

=====

Kara woke again. Her arms were wrapped around the little blonde girl, like the girl had crawled into bed with Kara and pulled Kara around her like a blanket. She was warm. Kara groaned, rolled to her back and looked around. She blinked her eyes five or six times. It wasn’t her apartment anymore. Everything was light gray. It looked like a prefab building, maybe. Had they moved her and the girl?

Kara carefully worked her arms loose and examined the edges of the room. There were no windows, but it still didn’t feel like a permanent building. Outside the building was silence. There was a crate in one corner. Kara rummaged through it, checking the girl over her shoulder every so often. She slept on, oblivious to the dangers around her. Kara envied her.

When she’d pulled everything out, there was a backpack, and something that looked like a backpack, but with holes. At the bottom of the crate was a note.

_I’ve kept him occupied, but I can’t hold him off forever. When you wake up, get out of here. Take the girl with you. Go to the back of the building, the opposite corner from the door. Head for the needle. You’ll know it when you see it. You should run into one of your patrols within about eight miles. I don’t know what he wants with you, but you need to get out of here._

_All of you. Get out while you can._

Kara unzipped the backpack, found a thermal blanket, a six-pack of bottled water, and some nutrition bars. Ugh. Better than starving, though. She kept out one bar and one bottle, then dropped the backpack by the door. She picked up the other thing, saw the connectors, and realized it was a way to carry the girl. Wouldn’t be easy, but the weight of the girl would balance the weight of the water on her back. More or less.

Who was he? Who was the person who’d left the supplies? Where was she? Kara shook her head. Not important right now. She tried the door, which she hadn’t done at first, and the knob turned easily. She peeked outside. Dusk. 

She went to the bed and shook the little girl. What the frak was she supposed to call her? Little Girl? Gods. The girl rolled toward Kara, rubbed her sleepy eyes, and smiled.

“Mama.”

“Hi, honey,” Kara said softly. “We’re gonna go for a walk, okay?”

The girl nodded, slid to the edge of the bed, and held her arms up. “I have to pee.”

“Oh. Um, okay. Um -” she looked around. “We can do that outside, okay? It’ll be an adventure.” She hoped the kid was buying this line of bullshit.

The girl nodded up at her.

Kara swept up the backpack and the other thing, opened the door and peeked outside again, looking for a likely tree. She glanced back into the room. Toilet paper? Pillow case! Not perfect, but better than walking with a wet crotch. Talk about chafing.

She strode over and whipped the case off the pillow, tucked it into her waist, took the girl by the hand, and went outside. Her eyes were trying to see everywhere at once. Shadows writhed in the periphery of her vision. Kara marched them toward a cluster of bushes, and knelt to help the girl take her pants down. The girl kept stripping, and Kara realized it probably would be easier, at her size, to pee naked. She helped the girl squat, put her tiny fist on Kara’s knee, and pulled the pillowcase out. She bit at it, pulling the seam apart, then ripping strips from there.

“Here you go.” The girl snatched the cloth and wiped herself, then tried to hand it back to Kara.

“Just drop it on the ground, okay?”

“Okay, mama.”

“Why are you callin’ me that, kid?”

The girl looked up at her. “That’s what the man said. She’s your mommy now.”

A man? Was this the same nebulous “him” the note referred to? “Oh. Well, how about if you call me Kara, instead? Can you do that?” The girl nodded. “And what do I call you?”

“Kacey.”

“Kacey. That’s a good strong name. All right, Kacey, let’s get your pants back on.” She was quickly redressed, shoes back on, and Kara figured out how the thing fastened around herself. She settled the backpack onto her shoulders, and looked down at Kacey. Kacey might want to walk, but Kara would make better time carrying her.

“Okay. I’m gonna put you in this carrier thingy, and we’re gonna take a walk. It’ll be exciting. See? Stars coming out up there, and maybe _Galactica_. Bet the Old Man’s up there watching us right now.” Gods. She wished.

“Okay, Kawa.”

Okay. It took a good five minutes to figure out how to put Kacey’s arms and legs through the right holes, and then to shift her around until she was comfortable on Kara’s frame. If she had to walk too far, Kacey would get pretty heavy, but she wasn’t leaving her out here for cylons to find. And Kara was sure those bastards were behind this somehow.

She took a few steps, figuring out how Kacey and the crap moved when she walked, and went around the corner of the building. She stood under the edge of the roof and looked away from the building. Off in the distance, there was a spire climbing into the sky, silhouetted against a moon. The needle. Okay then.

“Let’s go, Kacey.”

“Okay, Kawa.” Kacey dropped her head on Kara’s chest and stuck her thumb in her mouth.

Kara walked.

=====

After a long shower, an unusual indulgence, Sam felt much better. He dressed in the sweats and shirt Laura had brought him, and used some toothpaste sitting on the sink to take the worst of the taste out of his mouth. Laura came back in the bathhouse, hair wet and clean clothes on. He bundled everything up under one arm, and put the other around Laura, pretending to lean his weight on her.

They walked toward Laura’s tent instead of Sam and Kara’s, and when he stepped in, it was obvious Laura had called on somebody to set up some food while they were showering. He dropped the bundle by the door, stepped in and sat on a crate, then watched Laura sit.

They dug in. Thankfully, it was soup, because his stomach probably wouldn’t have been able to handle anything heavier. He watched to make sure Laura was eating, too - she looked skinnier than he remembered. If he’d been sick and she’d been taking care of him - well, it ought to have been the other way around. Kara hadn’t told him, but he knew Laura had been sick, nearly died, before they’d settled on New Caprica. When she set her spoon down, he reached for her hand.

“You wanna tell me what happened to my wife, Laura?”

Her lips quivered, and her sigh bordered on a sob.

He swallowed. “Is she dead, Laura?”

She shook her head, but forced out, “We don’t know. No one’s seen her since the day she brought you back to the tent. She went after meds and disappeared.”

He squeezed her hand, and she squeaked. Frak! He had to remember this was Laura, not Kara. With a lightness he wasn’t feeling, he said, “Well, if anyone can find a party, Laura, it’s my wife, so I’m sure she’s fine.”

Laura nodded numbly, didn’t look convinced. Hell, he wasn’t convinced. “How long was I down again?”

“Si- no, seven days, including the day she left.” She looked at her spread fingers.

“Have you talked to Adama?”

“Bill, yes. And Lee.” She nodded again. “Bill had Saul and Galen make sure nobody wandered around alone. He put an extra raptor and vipers on CAP, but didn’t find anything unusual. They reported there were some structures on the far side of the planet, but they appeared to be ancient. No cylons in orbit. He didn’t sound convinced, but Bill always thinks the cylons are right around the corner. He never believed they would leave us alone here.”

He slapped his thighs. “Right. Let’s clean up the dishes and we’ll get an update from somebody. We need to check our tent, make sure she hasn’t come back just as mysteriously as she left.”

She gathered her bowl, cup, and silverware, then stood. “I asked someone to clean your tent. They might still be in there. They would have sent Kara here if she were back.”

He clenched his jaw. “I wanna check anyway.”

“Of course.”

=====

After a couple of hours, Kara was exhausted, no matter that she’d slept for gods knew how long. She must’ve been drugged. Kacey, asleep again, was a dead weight pulling her shoulders forward, and Kara stumbled more than a few times. She kept going, though, squinting to keep the needle in her sights. Whoever “he” was, she wanted to be as far away as possible when he stopped being distracted. When the moon was nearly at its apex, she stopped in a field of boulders. Cover, if she needed it, and she’d see anything coming, hopefully.

She dropped the backpack unceremoniously, then carefully lowered Kacey to the ground. She pulled a strip of cloth out of her pocket, and keeping an eye on Kacey, went and squatted beside another rock. No point being squeamish. Not that she ever was. Business done, she dug into the dirt at the base of the rock and shoved the cloth in, then covered it back up and scuffed the dirt. Leave as little trace as possible. Just in case.

She pulled out a bottle of water and another bar, tearing into the bar and chewing hungrily. She had no idea how long it’d been since she’d eaten. Once the knot in her stomach had dissolved a bit, she pulled out another bar and pulled Kacey into her lap. “Hey, Kacey? Can you wake up for me? You need to get a drink and eat a little bit.”

Kacey curled her head under Kara’s chin and refused to wake up. Frak. What if they’d drugged her, too? Kacey was much smaller than she was. She pursed Kacey’s lips and poured a little bit of water into her mouth, watching her throat work to swallow. That’d have to do. She’d stick the bar in her pocket and the bottle down the side of the kid carrier for when Kacey woke up.

She put Kacey down again, walked around what she’d deemed her perimeter, and tried to figure how far she’d come. About two hours, she thought. With Kacey and the backpack, she hadn’t been up to speed. So, maybe five miles? The needle looked much closer. She tried to remember if she’d seen that from the tent city, but she couldn’t remember. She was usually more interested in a party or a quick frak when she was outside at night. With their new thing with Laura, though, she hadn’t been doing much of that.

She walked another circuit, stretching her stride to loosen everything up, then stooped and shrugged the backpack on again. She took a deep breath and sat on the ground. She pulled Kacey into her lap, working the straps around herself again, then pulling to make sure it was all secure. She used a handhold in the boulder to pull herself up. She bounced everything into place and set out again.

It seemed both hours later and yet not more than a few minutes before she heard sounds. Two people. Not making any effort at stealth. She stopped, holding in place under a tree. The sounds moved from left to right, and as they started to fade, she remembered the note had mentioned patrols. She swallowed hard, and shouted, “C-Bucs suck!”

Instant silence. Then an answering shout, from farther away than she expected, “Picon Panthers rule!”

The code. “Who goes there?” she called.

Feet tramping closer again. “Mids patrol!”

So it was later than she’d thought, too. “Thrace!”

“Starbuck? Where the frak have you been?” The patrol started muttering to each other, constantly getting closer. She stayed behind the tree, watching, just in case the cylons had figured out their password. When they stepped into the light of the moon overhead, she recognized them. Not people she knew personally, but people she had at least seen before. 

She slumped, then straightened again immediately. Just because she’d run into the patrol didn’t mean she, or any of them, for that matter, was out of danger. Get Kacey and herself back to the tent city. Find Saul Tigh. Get word to the Old Man. She stepped out from behind the tree.

“Gods, Starbuck! We’re so glad to see you! The President’s been frantic.”

Baltar? “Why would he even know I was gone?”

She shook her head. “No, Laura Roslin.”

That made more sense. “She okay?”

“Yeah. Sam, too. He was up and around yesterday, finally.”

She closed her eyes and sent up a quick prayer, thanking the gods for some good news.

Their eyes stopped on the head of tousled blonde hair in the bundle in front of her. “Uh, Starbuck? Where’d you find a kid?” She looked at Kara, puzzled, then said, “Wait. Is her name Kacey?”

Kara nodded.

“She went missing about the same time you did. Her mother’s gonna be thrilled to see her.”

“Good. Then let’s go. Which way’s camp?”

They both pointed not quite straight ahead, just a little left. She nodded and stepped forward.

“You want one of us to take the kid?”

Kara’s arms went around Kacey in an unconscious gesture. “I’ve got her. Just take us home.”

=====

Laura was helping Sam remake the cot when there was a flurry of activity in the distance. Feet thumped toward the tent and someone burst in. She looked up sharply, and they stopped.

“Sorry. Patrol found Starbuck. It’ll be a while before they get here. She was pretty far out. They said she’s fine - grouchy as a bear. Got a kid with her.” The man backed up as Laura and Sam rushed to the opening and out, following closely behind toward the far edge of the city.

She and Sam got to the site, and Sam wanted to push out into the dark toward Kara, but Laura held him back. “No. You’re not at full strength yet. And you’re not going out there alone. We’ll wait here.” 

He gave her a dirty look, which she answered with her best teacher glare, and he backed down. “Fine.”

Twenty minutes later, when they saw shadows bobbing on the horizon, Sam squeezed Laura’s hand, and she squeezed back, not caring how much it hurt or who was looking.

When they got close enough to see, Sam surged forward, pulling Kara off her feet into a hug. 

Kara yelped. “Watch it, Sam! Sleeping kid, here.”

Sam stepped back, his hands in the air. He faded into the back of the crowd and it didn’t look like Kara ever even noticed.

Laura looked harder. Kara’s silhouette _was_ oddly misshapen. She stepped closer until she was within arm’s reach and she hugged Kara fiercely, unable to say what she was feeling. Kara’s hand went down Laura’s arm and clenched Laura’s hand, then she stepped away, addressing the small crowd gathered.

“Where’s Tigh? I need to report.” Questions arose from every direction, and in typical Starbuck fashion, she cut it all off. “Tigh. Now. Find him for me. And someone find me Kacey’s mom!”

Laura loved that Kara had that leader in her, that she used it without even thinking. There was so much more to this girl than she’d imagined when she’d asked her to go back to Caprica for the Arrow.

There was sobbing from behind them, and a woman rushed toward Kara. “Kacey? They said you found Kacey?”

Kara nodded, put her hand on the woman’s shoulder. “I think she’s fine. Find us a place to sit and I’ll undo all this crap.” She gestured up and down with her free hand.

“Gods! I was so worried when she went missing! You sure she’s okay?”

“Hey, lady.”

The woman stiffened for a moment. “Julia. Julia Brynne.”

“Julia. I think Kacey’s fine. She’s been asleep almost the entire time I’ve been walking. We’ll want to have her checked out, make sure there’s no side effects from whatever they used on us.”

Kacey wriggled, and Kara put her arm around her. “Hey, Kacey. How you doin’?”

“Tiewd, Mama.”

Kara closed her eyes. “Kacey, it’s Kara, remember?”

Kacey was already snuggling back into Kara’s chest. “Kawa,” she nodded as her eyes closed.

Julia Brynne had tears running down her face, and she was holding herself stiffly. 

Laura reached out. “I’m sure Kara will tell us everything. The important thing is that they’re safe.”

Julia swiped a hand under her eyes. “Right. Of course.”

The small crowd separated as Tigh walked up. “Starbuck. Sitrep,” he said gruffly.

“Sir.” 

She was carrying herself differently. Laura hadn’t noticed the change until it was gone. Kara was Fleet again, right in front of her eyes.

“We’ll need some privacy, sir. And I need to unload the girl, give her back to her mother. Med tent?”

Tigh nodded, pulling Kara along by her elbow, shoving people out of the way when they didn’t move fast enough to suit him. Laura trailed behind, finding Sam in the crowd and guiding him toward the med tent.

=====

They made the med tent, and there was a tense, awkward moment when Julia walked in with Kara and Kacey, and Kacey turned her head away. “No! Kawa!”

Laura watched Julia’s face fall.

Kara grimaced at Julia. “Sorry. I promise I’ll take care of her, and you’re going to be right outside the curtain, right?" When Julia nodded, Kara melted out of sight.

Julia waited in the outer area with them while the on-duty medic checked Kacey and pronounced her mildly dehydrated but otherwise fine. He took some blood after Kara mentioned the possibility of sedation, but the medic said all Kacey’s responses were within normal ranges. Kara pushed aside the curtain and gestured Julia in.

“She’s fine. Just a little dehydrated. We’ll make sure she gets plenty of water. You ready to take her home?” 

When Julia nodded, they disappeared behind the curtain and Laura heard Kara’s voice in murmurs talking to Kacey, answering Julia’s questions. A sharp breath, and Laura knew Julia had finally been allowed to hold her child. The curtain pushed aside, and Kacey reached her arms out for Kara. Kara hugged her, eyes closed. Laura had never seen that expression on her face. Equal parts fear and determination maybe. Somehow Kara and Kacey had bonded while they’d been held.

Kara waved her arm as Julia walked away, pulling Tigh, Laura, and Sam into the exam cubby. She hopped up on the cot and waited for the medic to start checking her. “Backpack? There’s something in it you need to see, sir.”

Sam handed it over, and Kara dug through it one-handed. She pulled out a note.

Saul Tigh scanned it. “You think maybe it’s that Leoben? The one you interrogated?”

“Hadn’t thought about it, sir, but it could be. I never saw anyone, though.”

“Start at the beginning, then,” he ordered.

Kara went through everything - each time she’d woken up, what she’d seen and deduced and inferred, ending with, “And then I found that note, loaded myself up, and started walking. I ran into the patrol after a few hours, and you know the rest.”

Laura spoke up. “What do you think it means, Kara?”

Saul looked at Kara, or sort of through her, one eyebrow raised, as if he were somewhere else entirely.

“It has to be a cylon trick. I don’t know how. And the one who left me the gear, maybe she’s like Helo’s Sharon: doesn’t like what they’re doing to us. She said -”

“Why do you think it’s a female?”

Kara stopped, mouth slightly open. “I don’t know. Just an assumption, I guess. We been told there are twelve models. It could be any of them. The he could be any of them. Or one we don’t even know about.”

Saul nodded. “We need to get this to Bill.”

“Yes, sir.” Kara stood, stumbled.

“But you need to get some rest, Starbuck. I’ll coordinate with the Old Man first.”

Laura moved in on one side of Kara, and Kara leaned on her. They walked to the curtain, and Sam fell in on the other side. The three of them made their way out of the medtent.

“Gotta hit the head,” Kara said.

Laura and Sam switched directions without a word. When they were finished, they went back to Kara and Sam’s tent. Laura hung back, unsure if they would need alone time, but Sam held a hand out. He wrapped Laura and Kara both into a hug, and they stood there for endless moments, Laura’s tears leaking onto Kara’s shoulder.

Kara broke the embrace, stepping back and starting to strip, dropping her clothes without regard to the mess. Laura had to smile. It was one of Kara’s less endearing traits, but right now, she didn’t care. Kara was back.

Kara climbed into the cot and rolled to her side. Sam and Laura crawled in on either side of her, their hands meeting on her hip, and they watched Kara and each other until sleep pulled them under, too.


End file.
